Perhaps you are one of those who often ask “which is the best credit bureau to get a credit report from?” Or maybe you have not asked yet, but you have always wondered.

To begin with, there are three main national credit bureaus; TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Each of these national bureaus use FICO score models to produce their own credit report based on the data they have collected about your borrowing history.

Credit bureaus resulted from small groups when the work of tracking down history became harder and also upon the realization that profits could be made from this work. Credit bureaus are profit-making companies that collect financial data from consumer lenders, like healthcare providers, utility companies, property managers, loaning companies and banks; and then generate reports based on these.

Since they collect your financial data from multiple sources, bureaus generate a comprehensive report which they can sell to creditors or anyone else interested in knowing your history, like landlords for instance or gives them on court orders.

Which Is the Best Credit Bureau?

Since all the three main bureaus run separate entities, they collect different data on consumers. For example, while reports generated by Equifax and Experian will have somewhat sketchy data about your employment history, TransUnion will have comprehensive details even containing dates of employment, your position and the employers’ name.

Because creditors are not mandated by law to give information about their relationship with you, most of them are not motivated to give this information to all the three bureaus. Also, each of the credit bureau companies use their independent rating models or algorithms to calculate your credit score, and as a result there might be a slight variation in your ratings in addition to those in your credit history reports.

As a government requirement, each bureau is required to give you a free copy of your report each year. One secret tip you can use to put close tabs on your ratings is to request a free copy of your report from one of the three main credit bureaus after every four months.

Ways to Ensure That Your Credit Report Is Correct

After getting a copy of your rating either directly from one of the major credit bureaus or from the government authorized website, you can go through it with a counselor who can explain the content of the report in details.

If you find out the information on your report from a particular credit bureau is false, you should immediately notify all the three bureaus through a formal dispute process. An error on your report can be as a result or something simple like negligence, or may be something major like identity theft.

When a Rating Error Becomes a Stumbling Block

Whatever the reason, a report error can be a huge stumbling block for you when you need to get a loan. You can also create a credit free on your file from the particular credit bureau that originated the report.

As you can probably see, there is no such thing as a credit bureau that gives the best reports; there is really no competition at all. The impact of your rating and credit score will only be felt with individual lenders.

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